Represent Interview: Babazeka.com
Thanks to Twitter (do you follow Editorista’s tweets? http://twitter.com/sisiwami )Represent was introduced to a ‘socially aware online store’ recently called Babazeka that sells a range of colourful South African handmade goods, supporting numerous craftspeople throughout the country. The shopping bug immediately kicked in and we of course needed to know more. We chatted to Sarah, the lady that makes it all happen. (Crafters, find out how to get in touch with her below)
We love your website Babazeka, please tell us what your inspiration for creating Babazeka is? What does Babazeka mean and where did the name come from?
Babazeka was created for a few reasons. One, I moved to a small town (Knysna) and realised pretty quickly if I wanted to be truly happy in my career, I would need to start my own business doing what I enjoy (as opposed to the jobs the town had to offer). Two, I’ve always loved making things by hand – my favourite hobby is sewing. Three, I’m one of those people who has just always had the urge to help others.
So, after chatting with lots of people, I put it all together, and agreed with my cousin, Scott, to set up an online store which would sell handmade things made by job creation projects. Scott developed the site and helps me with the online marketing, pretty much everything else is up to me.
The word Babazeka is zulu, and means “be beautiful” or “be admirable”. I found it in an online dictionary, got all excited about how suitable the meaning was to what we were doing, and then got even more excited when the .com was available. (It’s VERY difficult to find available .com’s)
What is your background? What is your backstory? Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Joburg, and studied Business Science Marketing at UCT. I always thought that I’d go into advertising, but after travelling around the world for 3 years, I figured out quite a bit more about myself and realised that the advertising industry is definitely not where I belong. I’m just not a corporate or big city girl. Moving back to South Africa and to Knysna, is where everything was put into perspective for me. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a South African who helps the country in my own little way, that it’s not all about money and that it is all about quality of life.
How are you finding online sales in SA, are people trusting of the system? Do you have much interest from overseas clients?
Our sales are growing steadily which is the most important thing. We still have a very long way to go, as do many online shops in South Africa. Our customers have been more than trusting (I keep wondering if it’s a certain type of person who is supporting our shop because of the cause?) but I’d say, in general, many South Africans are still afraid of the internet. If I look just at my group of friends, not one of them buys products online. This is probably not just a trust issue though, they don’t feel the need to shop online, and still enjoy the “touch and feel” aspect of physical shops.
We do have a number of overseas customers, and hope that this continually grows. We’ve recently started to work with a lovely girl, Ria, from the UK and hope that she’s going to be able to gain us some nice exposure on that side of the world.
You work with different communities, can you tell us a day in the life of sourcing for Sarah?
I only work hands-on with one project, which is a group of ladies called Women of Vision. They are a sewing group from our local Knysna township, Nekkies. I absolutely love this part of my job, and truthfully would like, in the future, for me to be able to work hands-on with as many projects as possible, instead of being in the office all the time.
As for sourcing products, I’m not quite trekking through the wilderness encountering local women who are crafting traditional clay pots and sead necklaces…yet! It all started with me scouring through shops in Cape Town, which sell handmade products, and then contacting their suppliers. I also always visit expo’s which may have potential suppliers, like The Handmade Collection, Sarcda, Design Indaba and Rooms on View. I’ve managed to find quite a few projects online – the ones who have access to internet.
What is happening now though, is that I’m being contacted more and more by projects who’ve found our website or hear about us through another project. I also have lots of links sent to me by friends and customers. It’s great, because it means we’re gaining credibility and people are asking to join us, instead of us asking them.
Would you mind introducing us to three of your suppliers, perhaps from different areas of South Africa and what cultural richness their products tap into?
I’ll start with one of our more recent groups to join, Gone Rural. They’re actually based in Swaziland, not South Africa. What I love about this business, is that they encourage the local women to farm indigenous grass and sisal, and then buy the grass from them. These women weave the grasses using, traditional African weaving techniques, into the most beautiful home decor items, like bowls, placemats and table runners. In other words, Gone Rural are supporting the communities in terms of creating two different types of jobs, and then they also train these women, and provide different types of social support, such as HIV awareness, literacy, a mobile library, etc. I love it!
Zambane is a project based in Cape Town, which is run by women from the local township outside Fishhoek. They make fabric products like cushion covers and table runners, but what is so amazing about these, is that all of the patterns on the fabric have been printed using the old technique of potato-printing. Designs are drawn on the fabric and then the different colours are overlaid, forming the most intricate patterns. The potatoes need to be re-cut every few hours, as they go mushy from the dye. I think this skill is incredible!
uSisi Designs is based in Pietermaritzburg, and produces things which are mostly crocheted from fine copper wire and beading. They say about their products, “uSisi Designs reflects the earth, sky and the people of this continent in the rich colours and vibrant designs of every article” and I couldn’t agree more. What’s particularly great about crocheting, is that it’s something that’s really easy for their ladies to do from home, from anywhere, as all they need is a little crochet hook – this is non-limiting employment at its best.
How do you find your suppliers?
Crafters and Artists are constantly struggling to find an outlet for their work in SA and around the world, places like the bus factory while admirable in intention just didn’t seem to be able to leverage this community to the level of exposure they need to make a living out of their talent. Do you believe that technology is a viable bridge between crafters and artists and their potential customers?
Technology is definitely a viable bridge between crafters and customers. It means that a crafter can be sitting in the most remote of areas, but if they have a sellable product, and access to the internet, the world is their oyster. What is sad though is that many crafters use middlemen to sell their products online, and a lot of these middlemen take the crafters for a ride, charging customers ridiculous prices and paying the crafters unfair wages. Babazeka is all about breaking this mold. Our most important objective is gaining exposure for, and increasing the sales of, our crafters. And technology is proving to be an excellent way to do so!
If I am a craftsperson and would like to get my goods onto Babazeka, what do I need to embody in order to qualify? How can I contact you?
To qualify to join Babazeka, your products need to be handmade, and your project or business needs to be creating jobs for marginalised South Africans. We do of course need to maintain our own brand image, so also need to look at the products’ level of quality, originality and design. The more people we can help the better, so feel free to contact us if you’d like your project to come onboard.
Thanks Sarah, we wish you all the best… keep flying that flag high! REPRESENT!
For more info: sarah@babazeka.com
